Nastasha Pollard

Kelechi Onyejiaka and Nastasha Pollard met at the University of Miami and have been best friends for over 10 years. They share a love for traveling, investing, cycling, and storytelling. They are passionate about their stories celebrating diversity and providing young girls with characters that are a reflection of themselves. Nastasha currently resides in New York City working as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist providing Anesthesia at a large teaching Hospital and Ambulatory Surgery Center.

1. What inspired you to write a children's book?

When I was younger I stumbled upon my old favorite children's book and decided how amazing it would be to write my own story! A story that reflected me as a little girl, so Black, Brown, and Latina girls could see themselves in a book. As a young girl, I endured a lot of criticism for my curly hair which made me less confident that it was beautiful. Children would comment it was too "Puffy", too messy, and too big. I wanted to turn Puffy into a positive message and a captivating story where the curly hair narrates its experience! Our book conveys a fun message of encouraging young girls to take care of their curly hair and reinforces that it is beautiful! Let your curls take up space and love on them! - Nastasha Pollard (Co-Author )

2. If you could tell yourself one affirmation as a kid, what would it be?

Accept and love yourself for everything that you are! -Nastasha Pollard (Co-Author)

3. What's next for you as an author?

I am working on another children’s book currently with a Black male protagonist as the main character for the new year. It is important we celebrate Black and Brown boys and they see themselves represented in children's literature. Additionally, Kelechi and I would love to write a Puffy book 2 and have been brainstorming ideas as a continuum to our first story. -Nastasha Pollard (Co-Author)

Learn more and purchase Puffy here!